Lets talk…Vision Boards

Time for fun, reflection and creativity.

When we first started looking into vision boards we were overwhelmed by the amount of write ups there were about them and with celebrities like Oprah, Beyonce, Jim Carey all raving about vision boards we thought it was worth looking into after all if it worked for them who were we not to try. Then, we stumbled across this quote and it felt like the pieces fell into place.

“Whether you look at it from a spiritual or scientific aspect, this world is a huge vision board. Everything that’s here is because it started as an image someone had in their mind. You want to call it a blueprint, or a business plan? Fine. But first, they had to think about it and draft it. So a vision board? It’s like selling our own ideas to ourselves.”

~ Lucinda Cross

To explore, or not to explore

Just to be clear from the outset we are not here to debate Vision Boards, Law of Attraction or Manifesting as it like most things in life you will always find a counter argument and reasons why something is bad for you, but we firmly believe that it’s important to find what works for you and go with that. So, like most things with 2rebelbellas you’ll get our experience with them, you can then choose if you go exploring. Simples.

Visioning in the 2rebelbellas

In 2rebelbellas HQ we first used a vision board when establishing the DNA of 2rebelbellas ( This was the exciting and scary bit) what did we want to get out of this adventure we had embarked on, that way we could constantly review the board and re-evaluate our journey . I guess at this point it’s no different from that project, strategy or reward chart. You know where you want to go, you just consolidate this into something creative. When creating our vision board we quickly realised that for us it was less about money and more about people and 12 months later we published our first book, which in our humble opinion is beautiful and inspiring…( it really is…:)

Fast forward a few months and we are starting to work on new projects, this is totes exciting by the way and I have learned I am now very good at keeping secrets… We look to our vision board and still find it amazing how so much is coming together, but it was linked into a plan and that in our opinion has helped us stay focused. It’s not always about success or failure either, we have fulfilled our vision in some areas but learned some very interesting lessons along the way, we don’t see that as a negative, these learnings help us move forward to new ventures. Eyes open, hearts full and dreams swimming – after all if you can’t dream what do you have? A transaction, something that feels cold, your actions/plans should inspire and excite you.

The Do’s and Don’ts –

Do – Get Creative, jazz it up, use photographs, stickers, quotes, magazine cuttings, fabric. Remember you are going to be looking at your ver own masterpiece every day, make it pop!

Don’t – Make them too prescriptive, don’t follow templates, this is YOUR vision board so make sure is individually you

Do – Follow what makes your heart sing. If the image doesn’t stir up feelings then it doesn’t belong on your vision board.

Don’t – Make it too busy, after all you want to look at this everyday and what’s included to mean something, if you pack too much into your board it could be too much on the eye.

Do – Ask yourself these questions, What is important to me? What do I want? What do I need? Be specific and ensure your goals are attainable. I mean one of my earlier visions/dreams was to be on Broadway, but my general lack of talent and getting closer to 40 by the day, this is unlikely to happen, so I reluctantly removed this.

Don’t – Rush, make sure when you are starting a vision board your in a positive frame of mind. We listened to music when creating ours and it made all the difference.

Do – Think about where it’s going to go, you might want to create yours using powerpoint and have it as your screen saver, or on a cork board ( This was our preference) or carload, phones etc. It should be somewhere where you can spend time looking at it everyday. You might even prefer to use Pinterest as your vision board, after all I think many offs have used this platform as a source of inspiration and if digital is your preference then this could be fo you. Make it work for YOUR lifestyle.

Don’t- Ignore your board. Are you actions all working towards your goals, or have your goals changed ( This can happen and that’s ok too, we all go through life changing experiences and this can often mean our goals change)

Most importantly of all, enjoy the process, the direction you travel is your choice, make your vision board about YOU and what is important to you, that way you know that your board will be a true reflection of where you want to go

The Featuring Bit….

As part of this exploration into vision boards we reached out to one of our great friend Ellie Gair who not only works in recruitment, but also launched a range of beautiful inspiring cards and more recently is rocking her style with her partner in crime where they have both created Approved which promotes sustainable fashion with the fabulous tag line REUSE/RESTYLE/RELOVE.

Ellie had this to say;

What is your experience with Vision Boards?

I do a vision board every year with my son, Gray. He does his own and we talk about what he would like to experience rather than what he wants or material things. It’s an amazing tool to get into the head of someone else and what makes them happy. It’s important to focus on how something might make you feel instead of just the thing itself, otherwise it can come from the wrong place and you can experience blockages. So for instance, I might really want a new kitchen but instead of focusing on just the kitchen as a material possession, I think about what it would mean to me to have the kitchen, so great parties, nourishing my family, cooking together etc. It has to make you excited, make you feel like you can’t wait to experience whatever it is you’re asking for. Find the most beautiful photos you can that visually inspire you and look at your board every day and every evening.

Do you have different boards for Work and Play?

I know a lot of people who keep them very separate but I just have the one because I feel like what you achieve at home impacts on work and vice versa. So if I hit a certain professional milestone that might mean I have the confidence or finances to impact something at home or in my personal life. So as an example, if you had on your vision board you wanted to create an income of £1,000 per month, that might mean that you could spend more time at home or you could pay for your kid to go to Euro Disney so there’s cross over.

I also have a small success board because it’s so easy to focus on what you don’t have or what you haven’t achieved that we forget those small successes we build along the way. So I might be feeling really negatively because I can’t seem to pass my driving test, so on my success board I’d put that despite failing an embarrassing amount of times, my success is that I still keep learning and putting myself through the test without giving up. I have on mine GO APE and a photo of me and Gray doing it in Norfolk because I’m terrified of heights and I still managed to complete the course with G (despite me crying like a lunatic).

Where do you put them?

I used to have mine at the side of the bed and then I’d move it around the house and it drove Dan insane. Now i have a small cork board and it’s in my study – I go in every morning and look at it and every evening and I have a photo of it as my screensaver. It’s brilliant to look back through old vision boards and see what has developed from them. I believe in the law of attraction and that what you put out you get back. You just have to imagine it’s already happening – close your eyes and feel what it would feel like to walk through your new kitchen, to host dinner parties, to throw a great birthday party, to sit down as a family and eat together in a happy, safe, comfortable space. Ask. Believe. Receive.

Massive thanks to Ellie for providing us with some fantastic insight from her sickbed…..

Now what

Well, love em, or loathe them vision boards can make a rally positive contribution, but they are NOT magic and the things you visualise will not magically appear. If they work for you brilliant if they don’t then hopefully this will stir up another creative notion that will see you exploring your dreams.